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John Wesley's Concept of the Church 9 with the Church of England John Wesley s Concept of the Church Reginald Kissack Few theological issues today are more alive than those which concern the nature of the Christian Church. If one could superimpose the various notions of the various churches, the first impression would be surprise at the extent of the area common to all, and the next greater perplexity at the tenacity with which each upholds the importance of its particular margin. Yet even here the gradations of difference would follow a fairly simple pattern of development. The "right-wing" "Catho lic" concepts shade through the older Reformation churches into the "independent" churches, following a fairly regular historical development, with Quakers and the Salvation Army, despite their rejection of sacramental ideas, and the very name of Church, seen to be quite clearly a part of the system for all that are at the extreme left. It would be seen that by far the greatest controversy turns on the concept of ministry, with only slightly less dispute about the relation of Scriptures to the Church. Towards the left of the scale, spirit of Christ rather than body of Christ seems to define the relation of the Church to its Lord; accordingly the sacramental notion fades away. Whereas all parts of the scale regard holiness as an essential element, there are many differ ent notions about what it consists in. On the right it seems to be a sacramental right relationship with the institution of the Church; it shades through ideas that equate it with right doctrine , into a personal standard of outward behavior . Not unrelated is a sociological divergence between the mainly right-wing idea of the "multitudinous" Church, stemming ultimately from the Constantinian notion of an Una Sancta coextensive with a world empire, and the "gathered" Church of the left, whose pattern is the "little flock." The right is impressed by insti human conse tutional perpetuity , the left distrusts nature, and quently seeks increasing freedom from institutions . For just this reason even Calvin rejected the need of apostolical conti nuity. 8 Asbury Seminarian Where are we to locate the specifically Methodist concept of the Church, and in particular, what were John Wesley's own ideas ? Wesley was brought up to hold ecclesiological ideas which would have set him at the extreme Catholic wing of the Anglican Church, believing, as he puts it, "that none but members of the Anglican community were in a state of salvation." These ideas, he writes in a passage that dates within two years of his death, began "to abate of their violence" about 1729, that is, at the time when the Holy Club first came into existence at Oxford. Throughout all his life they continued to modify, al though certain elements remained impervious, seemingly, to outside influence. In tracing this process, it is convenient to divide Wesley's life into four periods. The first of these lasts from 1729 to 1744. It covers the formative period of Wesley's general ideas. The second corresponds to the formulation of Methodism in terms of a Church, a problem that occupied the chief place at Wesley's earliest annual conferences. The third emerges out of the second about 1750 and marks the tensions raised when these ecclesiological notions came into conflict with contempo rary Anglican and Dissenting theories. The last period is clearly defined between 1769 and 1784 and shows Wesley accepting at last the responsibility of giving Methodism an organization that would outlast his own time. The natural focus of the first period was Wesley's personal spiritual crisis of May 24, 1738, when he experienced the had assurance of God's gracious pardon of his sins. But he two other crises (of a different nature) in the period that pro foundly influenced his ideas of the Church. Together with his brother, he found that these initial experiences of God's grace towards them were accompanied by the inescapable urge to preach the possibility of this same thing to all men. This led directly to open-air preaching. John Wesley first did this on April 2, 1739. Immediately the success of his work presented him with the problem of how to provide a pastoral organization to stablish, strengthen and settle his converts. The other crisis was more directly ecclesiological. Wesley's contacts with the Moravian missionaries in England and America led not only to his religious crisis and its solution, but also to his being used by them as an envoy in their negotiations for recognition John Wesley's Concept of the Church 9 with the Church of England. Thus Wesley had a unique oppor tunity to study the theory of a non-Anglican Church pattern on the one hand, at precisely the same time as he was experi encing in practice the defects of the Established pattern in the face of an evangelical revival on the other. Wesley came out strongly critical of the Moravian pattern, especially of the way even its episcopacy functioned (or rather failed to function) , though they possessed an impeccable Apostolic Succession. No shred of Moravian ecclesiology was ever given a place in Methodism. Both Wesley and his brother were very soon in conflict with the Churchof England authorities over the question of preaching in another man's parish; since the Wesley s were Fellows of university colleges, they had, in the nature of the case, no parish of their own. Wesley, if he were to have any parish, had to "look on all the world as my parish." Ac cordingly, if a bishop forbade him to preach in parishes where was a there already minister , Wesley must either admit himself effectively silenced or disobey the bishop. He formulated the issue: "Is it just to obey Man. rather than God?" He cited Anglican divines who had enunciated the rule in face of the issues posed by the Reformation: "Though it be lawful to obey Man for God's sake, it is not lawful to disobey God for Man's sake." As he put it: "To obey God, I have both an ordinary and an extraordinary call. My ordinary call is: Take thou authority to preach the Word of God. My extraordinary call is witnessed by the works God doeth by my ministry, which prove that He is with me of a truth in the exercise of my office." It is useful to note here, apropos of Wesley's controversy with the bishops at this early stage of his work, that one of the remarkable features of Methodism is the strange tolerance showed on the whole by episcopal authority to Wesley . Never once do bishops do more than protest and rebuke him. Oppo sition, and at times the bitterest persecution, came usually from the parish clergy allied with the local magistrates or, more often, with a bigoted mob. Five years of the Revival brought Wesley face to face with the ecclesiological problems of organizing his preachers and their converts. The parish clergy were not capable of caring for the souls awakened imder Methodist preaching. The first 1 " Letters ,1, "To Hernnhutt, August 8, 1740, p. 349. 10 Asbury Seminarian formal steps in this direction were the calling of annual confer ences, first of those Anglican and ordained clergy that worked with the Wesley s, and later of the lay preachers whom they employed. The extent to which, all Unknowing, they had become a Church already, is shown by the type of question they had to answer. The Conference of 1745 deliberated thus on the question: Is Question: Episcopal , Presbyterian or Independent Church government most agreeable to reason? Answer: The plain origin of Church government seems to be this . Christ sends forth a preacher of the gospel. Some who hear him repent and believe the gospel . They then desire him to watch over them, to build them up in the faith, and to guide their souls in the paths of righteousness. Here, then, is an independent congregation, subject to no pastor but their own, neither liable to be controlled in things spiritual by any other man or body of men whatso ever. But soon after some from other parts, who are occasionally present when he speaks in the name of Him who sent him, beseech him to come over and help them also . Knowing it to be the will of God he complies, yet not till he has conferred with the wisest and holiest of his congregation, and with their advice appointed one who has gifts and grace to watch over the flock till his return. If it pleases God to raise another flock in the new place, before he leaves them he does the same thing, appointing one whom God has fitted for the work to watch over these souls also. In like manner , in every place where it pleases God to gather a little flock by his word he appoints one in his absence to take the oversight of the rest, and to assist them of the ability that God giveth. These are Deacons, or servants of the Church, and look on their first pastor as their common father. And all these congre gations regard him in the same light, and esteem him still as the shepherd of their souls. The congregations are not strictly independent. They depend on one pastor, though not on each other. As these congregations increase, and the Deacons John Wesley's Concept of the Church 11 grow in years and grace, they need other subordinate deacons or helpers, in respect of whom they may be called Presbyters or Elders, as their Father in the Lord may be called the Bishop or Overseer of them all.
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